In the Japanese kitchen the staple foods are rice, noodles, soup and Okazu (Japanese word for side dish). The characteristics of the Japanese kitchen are the seasonality of food and the presentation. There are traditional recipes where local ingredients are used for regional specialties. Products that are often used in the side dishes are vegetables (cooked in broth or pickled), fish and seafood. (Japanese cuisine, 2013)
The regional specialties can be divided into traditional, late 19th – begin 20th century, the aftermath of the 2nd world war and modern. (japanese cuisine)
There is a limited use of oils, fats, dairy products and meat and a high content of salt, for example through the use of soy sauce.
In Japan, there are more restaurants with Michelin stars than the rest of the world combined. (Michelin Japan, 2010)
Ingredients
Ingredients that are used in the Japanese cuisine are:
Rice, flour, noodles as soba, ramen and udon.
Vegetables as cucumber, eggplant, peppers, squash, cabbage, chives, lotus, and sprouts.
Nuts and seeds as sesame, mushrooms, seaweed, fruits and soy products.
Eggs and meat as chicken, beef, pork and insects.
Seafood of all kinds, sweet and salt water fish, squid, wale, dolphin, crab, roe and sea cucumbers.
For flavoring the ingredients products as kelp, onions, garlic, sesame (seeds and oil), soy sauce, wasabi, yuzu (citrus fruit)and stock are used in the preparation of Japanese dishes.
Japanese dishes
Dishes from the Japanese cuisine are rice dishes, noodles, bread, deep-fried, grilled and pan fried dishes, stews, one pot cooking, sashimi, stir-fried dishes, soups, and pickled or salted food. There is a big variety of dishes; following is an elaboration of eating moments. (popular dishes, 2012)
Breakfast
A Japanese breakfast contains steamed rice, miso soup, natto (fermented soy beans), nori (seaweed), tamagoyaki (rolled omelet), broiled fish and tsukemono (pickles). (Traditional Japanese breakfast)
Lunch
An example of a Japanese lunch is called a bento. It is a home-packed single-portion takeout meal. It contains rice, vegetable and fish or meat. Housewives prepare the boxes and decorate them to look like cartoon characters, but the boxes are also available at stores. There are even contest for the best bento arranger. (Bento, 2013)
Dinner
Some popular Japanese dishes are
- Sushi: rice seasoned with vinegar topped with ingredients.
- Sashimi: raw thinly sliced fish.
- Onigiri: rice balls filled with vegetables or fish covered with seaweed.
- Kare Raisu: curry rice.
- Yakisoba: fried noodles with meat, carrots, cabbage and red ginger.
- Shabu shabu: meat hot pot with thinly slices seafood, meat, mushrooms, tofu and vegetables.
- Oden: fish cakes, daikon, boiled eggs, konyaku and seaweed in a soy based soup.
- Miso soup: stock with miso paste, nori, tofu and vegetables.
- Yudofu: tofu in a mild soup.
- Yakiniku: grilled meat.
Snacks
Some sweets and snacks are rice dumplings, dried fruit, crystal sugar candy, steamed cake, sweet red beans and sweet bread.
Japanese beverages
Popular Japanese beverages are tea, soft drinks and alcoholic drinks. Some examples:
Tea (amazake):
Green tea (hojica, genmaichia, kukicha) and herbal tea (sakurayu).
Soft drinks:
Calpis, Yakuld, Qoo and pocari sweet.
Alcoholic beverages:
Sake, Awamori, Umeshu, beer (Ashari and Sapporo) and whiskey (Suntory).
What are the Japanese dietary guidelines?
Dietary guidelines are the source of many food policies, and can be used by nutritionists and dieticians as a foundation for a healthy food pattern. Below are several dietary guidelines outlined used in Japan.
Energy (Tabata, et al., 2010)
Protein (Kido, Shizuka, Shimomura, & Sugiyama, 2010)
Fat (Ezaki, Miyake, Sato, & Iso, 2010)
Dietary reference intakes for total fat and saturated fatty acids (en%)
Carbohydrates (Yamada, et al., 2010)
Dietary reference intakes for carbohydrates (en%) and dietary fibers (g/d)
Fat-soluble vitamins (Tanaka, Terao, Shidoji, Tamai, Imai, & Okano, 2010)
Water-soluble vitamins (Shibata, et al., 2010)
Macrominerals (Uenishi, Ishimi, Nakamura, Kodama, & Esashi, 2010)
Microminerals (Yoshida, et al., 2010)
Compared to the Dutch dietary guidelines, there are a few important differences:
• There is a slight difference in the daily intake of energy that is recommended for men (200 to 300 kcal more) and women (200 to 300 kcal less).
• The recommended daily amount of fat is 20-30 en%, instead of 20-40 en%. This is due to a higher amount of carbohydrates in their diet.
• The recommended daily amount of saturated fatty acids is lower (4,5-7,0 en% instead of 10 en%).
• The recommended daily amount of carbohydrates is 50-70 en%, instead of 40-70 en%.
• The recommended daily amount of dietary fibers only applies to those that are 18 or older. The recommended daily amount is very loose (>19 for males, >17 for females), whereas the Dutch dietary guidelines recommend a solid 30 to 40 grams.
These differences are mostly due to the characteristics of Japanese eating habits. The guidelines were compared to the ‘Richtlijnen Voedselkeuze 2011’ set up by The Netherlands Nutrition Centre.
In July 2005, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan released a new pictorial guide: The Japanese Food Guide Spinning Top. The pictorial guide was designed to help people implement the dietary guidelines. (Yoshiike, Hayashi, Takemi, Mizoguchi, & Seino, 2007)
Source: (Yoshiike, Hayashi, Takemi, Mizoguchi, & Seino, 2007)
Easy-to-understand illustrations indicating what kinds and how much food should be eaten (also known as food guides) are used all around the world. In Japan, an inverse triangle was adopted. The foods that should be consumed in the largest amount are shown at the top. The model is made in the form of a spinning top with a central axis, implying that balance can be achieved only by rotation (physical activity). (Yoshiike, Hayashi, Takemi, Mizoguchi, & Seino, 2007)